Franciscan 61, Waynesburg 76

Franciscan Starters
Derrick Derrow, Frank Bellisimo, Nick Allienello, Karl Yonkeu, Yann Yonkeu

How It Happened 
    Like a starter's gun on race day, the Barons came out of the gates on a rampage and left a relaxed Jackets team in a daze. The zone defense that is normally a curve ball later in the game was used from the very beginning. Four possession, four stops, and four scores created a 9-0 lead and an early wasted timeout from the Jackets. The Baron defense was stalwart following any time the Barons scored a bucket, and in the first half they scored a lot of them shooting a season best 50% from the field in the first half. Going into the break, the Barons led by 7 and felt in complete control of the game. 
    The second half the Jackets were a completely different team. They significantly ramped up the defensive pressure and intensity. This led to poor quality offensive possessions, turnovers, and easy transition points against a scrambling Baron defense. It was a fairly empty gym in Marisa Field House and you could hear the plea to value possession and limit turnovers. 12 turnovers in the second half and extremely poor shooting saw the lead vanquish and a large deficit build up. In the final minutes, the Barons found some success with the Tommy Kristian, Karl Yonkeu, Yann Yonkeu, Nick Allienello, and Derrick Derrow bringing full court pressure, forcing turnovers, and getting quick easy points. Unfortunately, the Jackets hit big shots when they did break the press and uncharacteristically hit free throws to stave any comeback attempt. 
    The Barons fall to 10th in the conference, but are still only a game out of a playoff spot and two games behind the Jackets that are sitting in 4th place.

Inside the Numbers 
-Four players were in double digit scoring
-The Barons had a season low 2 blocks
-Derrow led the team in rebounds with 7
-Tommy Kristian and James Maholm saw season-highs in minutes

Up Next 
Franciscan will return home to take on Allegheny for the first of two meetings this season at 3 pm on Saturday. This will be the first time that the Gators have played on Kuzma Court. Last season, the Barons hosted them at Steubenville High School, as Kuzam Court was getting replaced. The Barons are in search of their first win against the Gators, as they are 0-2 all-time. Allegheny is with Franciscan as one of the seven teams that are battling for the final three playoff spots in the very closely contested PAC.  

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